“Whatever we talk about will stay between us.”
“Is it because I’m your client?” Orsen asked quietly.
“Yes and no. I want to be your friend too. I feel like you don’t have many.”
“Does being so honest get you into trouble?”
“I think with you it’s something you’d want. No lies or subterfuge. It’s what we agreed to.”
“Subterfuge.” Orsen’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Deceit in order to achieve one’s goal.”
Subterfuge. He liked that word. Orsen nodded. “I want honesty. It’s important to me. I don’t want any more lies or people only telling me the things they think I should hear. I’ve lived enough of that.” Orsen picked at a thread on the hem of his T-shirt. “I’m going to be eighteen soon.”
“In thirty-four days.”
“I should celebrate. A cake and a soda.” No alcohol. He didn’t want to drink. Too much hurt came when people had been drinking. “Carrot cake or cheesecake, maybe.”
“It’s your birthday. You can have whatever you want. A party or a small gathering of friends.”
“You said I don’t have many friends.”
Santino nodded. “I apologize if I insulted you.”
“I hardly went to school, so I have no friends from there.”
“You can make friends when you’re ready. There’s no rush. Heal and then decide.”
“What about the house?” That had taken some getting used to. Him being a homeowner and the owner of fifty acres. What did he even do with that much land? The house, he would burn down to the ground. He would laugh and dance as the place burned to ashes. A ‘fuck you’ to Ambrose.
“It’s yours to do with as you please.”
“What if I wanted to destroy it?”
“Then you can do so, but you may need permission beforehand.”
“Why? It’s my house on my land.”
“You need permission for just about everything today, but given the condition it’s in, I don’t think there would be an issue. You could then rebuild.”
“No. I want it gone. He’d hate his precious home being destroyed, so nothing remained.”
“Ambrose?”
“Who else? He cared more for that house than me, yet he ruined it and tried to kill me.” Orsen sucked in a lungful of air. “I keep asking why.” He let the air out slowly and closed his eyes. Ambrose shouldn’t be on his mind, but when Orsen looked in the mirror, he saw Ambrose’s face staring back at him. He got his eyes from Allison, but the features of his face were all Ambrose.
“We can never know the reason why he behaved the way he did.”
“You come from the city. Have you met others like him?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I’d like to say there aren’t many of them, but I’d be lying, and we don’t lie to each other.”
“I hate him.”
“I would be surprised if you didn’t.”
Orsen exhaled and sat up. “I can’t read properly, so you’ll have to read it out to me.”
